Wall and floor tile



Patented Feb. 19, 1929.

UNITED' STA TE'S PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MCCOY, OF ZANESVILLE, OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO AMERICAN ENCAUSTIC TILING COMPANY, LTD., OF NEW YORK, N.

WALL AND Application filed July 23,

My invention is a tile foruse as a lining for floors, walls, and Construction purposes generally, and the objects are, first, to ime second, to fashion the tile with a view to stacking the same in piles for convenient handling prior to setting the same; and, third, to afl'ord protection against breakage in the operationsof handling, packng and shipping said tiles. e

My new article is characterzed bythe provision of intersecting webs of narrow cross section within a sunken part of the tile surface, resulting in the production of a multi-` plicity of quite small individual pockets for the reception of the bonding material.

Other features and functions of the invention will appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan View of a t-ile embodying my invention.

'Figure 2 1s a cross section thereof, and&

Figure 3 is a view in cross section on an enlarged scale of'a part of my tile illustrating the mode of bonding said tile to a wall, floor or other surface. v e

The tile is composed of material usual in the art and is manufactured in accordance with existing methods, whereby a vitrified product is obtained which may be set in a floor, wall or other surface, with the same faeility as commercial articlesof the 'same character. i

The body of the tileA may be of the usual form the same being either .rectangular or square. The wear. face of the tiletmay be of the same character as the rear, or said wear face may be coated with a suitable glaze. The back or rear face of the tile is designed to bebondedto the wall-or floor, but in1my invention the'back face isvof the peeuliar formation shown in the drawings, whereby the tile is'aflixed by a superior bond interlock.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a plurality of sunken panels, B, are provided in'said re'ar face, four of such panels being shown, but, obviously, the number is not -material. Said 'panels may be said to be in intaglio, and they are bounded ,byribs or divisions C, 'the same separating the intaglio panels one from theother. -The exposed surfaces of the ribs Care in the same plane as the back Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.,

FLOOR TILE.

1926. Serial No. 124351. i

surface of the tile at the several margins thereof, and said ribs with the back face in the same plane' afford the surface, whereby the tiles may be .stacked or piled uniformly, as is required in thisart for handling, packing, storage and shipment.

A' characteristic feature of my im roved bonding surface is a multiplicity 0 webs, D, E, each of narrow ,cross sectionresulting in a multiplieity'of quite small individual pockets, F. The webs D extend longitudinally of the tile, whereas the webs E range crosswise of the tile said websD, E, being within the intagl o panels. The webs D, E, are in regular order, spaced uniformly, and intersect'to produce a web-like'efect, with' small individual pockets. An important feature consists in having the webs of less height than thedepth of the sunken panel, and thusthe outer edges of the webs are below or within the plane of the back tile face and thesurfaces of the ribs C, see Figure 2.

It is, or may be,desirable to hevel or incline the margins of the panels B,as indicated at b, butit is to be 'noted that all the cross-sectionally narrow webs D, E, are

grouped quite closely, and are within the limits of the intaglio panels, whereby a rel-, atively large number of pockets are pro duced within the boundaries of said panels.

The setting oftiles in a bonding agent applied to a-wall or floor: presents for solution some difficult problems among which 'are to preclude displacement edgewise in a 'direction lengthwise of:` the tile or in a direction crosswise -of the tile; Moreover, the tile when Set,and with the bonding agent in a hardened condition, must resist displacement either in anedgewise direction, andin a lateral direction outwardly from theplane of the wall or floor. It is apparent'that a plurality of bonding elements unitarywith the bond-contacting face of the tile must'be coordinated 'by such an organization of the constituent ele= ments that the tile maybe placed in position with ease and facility, with aminimumtendency-to displacenent edgewise in any direction arising from the resistance of the plastic ther, when the tiles are positioned, and 'the bonding material becomes set and hardened,

the'tiles mustbe retained against ;dislodgement either edgewise 'in either direction; or F laterally with' respect to the wall or floor. p It'is apparent to those skilled in the. art

that allowance is made for a certain depth or thickness of the honding material intermediate the rear surface of the tiles and the wall or floor, but in the present invention provision is nade for an increase in the thickness of such honding material in de tinite areas constituted by intaglio panels at the rear surfaces of the tile, wherehy in setting the tile the plastic or semi-plastic hending material free to he dislodged by the wehs of the cellular or grillelike formation, and such plastic or SQIl1l,-plilS- tic material is free to flow into and to accumulate within the enlarged areas constituted by the intaglio panele. in the new forin of tile herein disclosed, there is provided a plurality of panels in intaglio, the same constituting enlarged areas for the accumulation of plastic or seniplastic honding material when such bonding material is displaced hy the webs of the cellular or a'rille-like fornation, and thus the tile nay he set or positioned without exhibiting a tendency to slide edgewise in directions either lengthwise or crosswise of said tilc.

The welos constituting the cellular or grillelike formation are within the intaglio panels, intermediate the cxposed surface and the hond-contacting surface of the tile, and said wehs are of relatively thin cross section, with parallel si de faces on each web, and, inoreover, said wehs are of a depth less than the depth of the intaglio panels, which organization is attended with nianifold advantages for practical purposes. The inultiplicity of interseeting wehs prodnce in each intaglio panel a relatively large nunher of individual eells or pockets, each hounded hy walls of thin cross section, wherehy the plastic or semi-plastic bonding material is adapted to enter and to fill the pockets and to bond with the walls of said pockets. The peckets are relatively shallow, and the thin walls. co-operate with said pockets to the end that in setting` the tile into the plastie or semi-plastic bonding material there is a displacernent of a relatively small quantity of the honding: material, and there iS no tendeney for the t' ,e to slide edgewise in any direction in the tile setting operation. Owing to the presence of the intaglio panels on the hond contacting faces of the tiles, the displacenent of the honding material by the entry of the thin wehs into such material results as stated, ina minimum quantity of the honding material being" forced out, and this displaced material flows frcely and unobstructedly into the spaces constituted by the intaglio panels, with the result that there is an inereased quantity of honding material within the panels, which increased honding naterial in said nanels provides for the secure ate taclnnent of the tiles to the wall or floor hy reasonof the increased thickness of the layer or strata between the wall or floor line and the rear surface of the tiles. Again, the inultiplicity of eells or poclets within each in together with a cellular grille coinposed of 7 intersecting webs of narrew cross section pou sitioned next to the closed surface of each intaglio panel, produces a tile having proi nounced advantages and distinctive structural features over tiles with bond-Contacting means which have preceded ny invention. One function is the Capacity of the panels to receive and retain the plastic bonding inate rial displaced in the act of setting` the tile hy the entry of the thin narrow Wehs ceinprising the cellular grillo provided 'at the closed sur face (or the hottoni) of the intaglio panels. Another function is the capacity of the panels and the cellular grille with the thin walls is to effect the anchorage of 'the tile against the tendeney to hecoine displaced inan edgewise direction or in a later-al direction outwardly with respect to the line of a wall or a floor. i

By providing the thin, narrow wehs within i the panels, with the edges of said wehs in a plane within the surfaces of the tile and the rihs C thereof, said wehs are net exposed to fracture when the tiles are stacked or piled, and notwithstanding the thin character of the nultiplicity of wehs, they are protected,

for all practical purposes, against breakage l in handling, storing or transportation froni a factory to the place at whichthe tiles are installed foruse i r l 3 To set the tile, a layer Or course of heading material, usually cement or a composition containing; cement, is spread over the face' of a wall or floor, as indicated at G in Figure 3, and the tile is pressed against this loonding' material and set in the required relation to other tiles. The bonding material enters and fills the individual pockets which extend in series lengthwise and erosswise of the tile, and said material fills the sunken panels B, said material honding to and uniting with the tile. The bonding naterial'hardens in due time, and produces nar'row rihs which are locked to the body of the same material which fills the sunken panels throughout the area thereof, and thus the material and the webhed surface of the tile are interlocked and i honded together in a superiormanner owing to' the multiplicity of the wehs and to the relation of said bondingnaterial both length wise and crosswise of the tile and at a multiplicity of lines of union within the separate intaglio panels of the series provided on the real' surface of the tile.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I clain as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i

1. A tile provided on the rear bond-contacting face thereof with a plurality of panels in intaglio, ribs intervening said intaglio panels, the eXposed surfaces of said ribs being in the plane of said rear surface of the tile, and a web-like fornation positioned within the bounda'ies of the panels and producing thei-ein a n'ultiplicity of pockets, whereby the pockets and the intaglio panels are adapted to receive bonding material for aflixing the tile in position. e

2. A tile provided on the rear bond-contacting face thereof with a plurality of panels in intaglio,` and a niultiplicity of intersecting webs within said intaglio panels, said webs extending lengthwse and crosswise of the tile and producing within said intaglio panels a inultiplicity of individual pockets, whereby said'intaglio panels and the individualpockets are adapted to receive bonding material for afiixing the tile in position. i v

3. A tile provided on the rear bond-contacting surface thereof with a plurality of panels in intaglio and a multiplicity of intersecting webs the depth of which is less than the depth of the intaglio panels and the outer edges of which webs are within the plane of the rear surface of the tile, said intersecting webs extending in such relation to each other as to produce a nultiplicity of' individual pockets each bounded by said webs. 4. A tile provided on the rea-r bond-receiving surface thereof with a plurality of panels in intaglio, ribs separating said intaglio panels and a multiplicity of interseeting webs constituting a grille work within the respective panels and producing a multiplieity of individual pockets bounded by said intersecting webs,

the depth 'of said intersecting e webs being less than the depth of the intaglio panels and the outer edges of said intersecting webs being in a plane within the exposed rear face of the tile and of the first named webs thereof;

5. A tile provided on the real' bond-receiving surfacethereof with a plurality of panels in intaglio the boundary edges of which a plurality of intaglio panels separated by' intervening ribs lying in the plane of the rear side of said tile, each panel being open at the rear of the tile and closed by the tile at the side opposite the open rea-r, and a cellular grille within each panel, said coinprising intersecting webs of relatively narrow cross section and positioned next to the closed side of said panel and being unitary with the tile said webs produeing shallow cells or pockets which open into the space bounded by theintaglio panel.

7 A tile provided on the rear with a plurality of panels sunken into the material cone posing said tile each sunken panel being open at one side and closed at the opposite side by a'continuous wall constituted by the tile inaterial, and a cellular grille within each panel comprising webs integral with the tile material at the closed wall side of the sunken panel, the depth of said webs being less than the depth of the sunken panel,'said webs being arranged in intersecting order and produci ng shallow cells or pockets which open into the space bounded by the sunken panel.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 10th day of July, 1926.

e WILLIAM MOCOY.

grille 

